A New Search
by LockHimInACage
Summary: Takes place before the GAang meets up at Iroh's tea shop. Zuko asks Katara to help him with something that will bring them closer than ever.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing...trust me I'm not good enough to own it. Avatar belongs to Mike, Bryan, nick,and all that jazz

A/N: Okay so it's not a new chapter. I decided to completely rewrite the first two chapters and add them togther. I promise new stuff will actually becoming soon. I have the next part written I'm just waiting for my friend to read it and give me feedback.

Please let me know how you like it. :D

She was dreaming of home. She dreamt she was with her brother helping him fish again. She was wearing her thick blue coat and was laughing at her brothers botched attempts to catch a fish. Looking up from the water she noticed a young man in red waiting for them on the shore, waving. She raised her arm to wave back a large smile on her face when a quiet knock invaded her dream.

Pulling a pillow over her head she moaned and rolled over. The knocking persisted becoming louder and more frantic. She let out a muffled scream into her pillow before finally rolling over once more and climbing out of bed.

"I'm coming!" She yawned grabbing a light blue silk robe off the end of her bed and sliding it on her shoulders. She stumbled tiredly over to the door. It took her a few minutes to get the door open. When her fingers finally remembered how to work properly she opened the door a crack.

She rubbed her eyes tiredly, "Zuko?" she yawned, "What the hell are you doing banging on my door in the middle of the night?" She demanded opening the door a little more to allow him in.

Zuko flushed as he pushed his way inside, "I'm sorry to wake you, but I needed to talk to someone."

Katara fixed a tired glare on the young Fire Lord, "Don't you have a girlfriend to talk to or something?" She asked bitterly.

Zuko looked at her, eyebrow arched, "I said I was sorry to wake you. Remind me to never do it again." He turned to leave.

Katara sighed and grabbed his arm, "Okay, I'm sorry. You just woke me up from a very nice sleep and I'm crabby." She moved to sit on her bed and patted the spot beside her, "Now what was so important that the Fire Lord had to wake me up on the middle of the night to tell me?" She teased.

Zuko looked her squarely in the eyes, "I know that you and Sokka and Suki will be leaving tomorrow but I can't let you go. I need your help."

Katara's eyes widened, "You what now?"

"It's about my mother. My father won't tell me where she is. He won't even tell me if she's alive or dead," he whispered looking down. He let out a soft laugh, "This is one of those times that I wish Toph hadn't gone off with Aang. She'd be able to tell if he was telling the truth or not."

Katara looked at Zuko's sad face, "Well, from what I've heard your father is a good liar. Now what exactly can I do about your little problem?"

Zuko looked up at her again, "I'm going to find my mother. I know you're leaving for home tomorrow and you're anxious to get back home…but would you please come with me? Will you help me find my mother?"

Katara stared at him for a few minutes, blinking slowly, "You want me to help you find your mother? But why me?"

"Because," he whispered, not looking her in the eyes, "You know what it feels like to lose a mother. You more than anyone."

Katara reverted back to her confused blinking.

"I understand if you don't want to come," Zuko said quickly averting his gaze, "I mean if I were in your shoes I wouldn't want to come either."

Katara finally snapped out of her daze, "Zuko…I really don't know," she muttered looking at the slumped over Fire Lord.

His head snapped up and he looked at her with pleading gold eyes, "Please," he whispered.

Katara looked away, not being able to make eye contact. He expected her to make a decision right now? It was in the middle of the night! She could barely comprehend what he was saying, "Zuko…I need to think about it."

Zuko turned several shades of red, "You need to think about it?! You're leaving tomorrow afternoon! You don't have time to think about it!" He let out an angry sigh and turned without another word and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Katara got up and chased after him, opening her door quickly, nearly sending Zuko toppling over, as he was just about to knock on her door again.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper," he whispered, "I understand that you need to think about it, but don't bother. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon to see you off," he muttered turning to leave.

Katara caught his arm, "Hey… I'll do it. I'll come with you," she said rashly, desperately wanting to comfort the young fire lord.

He whipped around to face her, "Really?"He asked quietly.

She nodded and soon found herself swept up in the Fire Lords arms, "Thank you so much, Katara. Thank you." He whispered into her hair as she returned the hug.

When he pulled away she let out a nervous laugh, "Anytime." She gently turned him around, "Now you go to sleep now."

Zuko yawned, "I'll make it up to you one of these days. You're such a good friend."

"Haha… good friend. Good night Zuko," she laughed nervously shutting herself in her bedroom. She leaned against her closed door… what in Tui and La's name had she gotten herself into.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- Eh. you know the drill. I don't own it.

Katara was performing the very daunting task of avoiding her brother. She'd been hiding in her room most of the morning, claiming she was having woman problems in an attempt to get Sokka to leave her alone. She had yet to tell her older brother that she would not be leaving with him and Suki on the boat headed for home.

At the present moment she was pacing back and forth in her room, listening to the preparations being made to send off Sokka and Suki. She had until noon before Sokka would come to take her bags, bags that were not packed. Noon was only a few short minutes away.

Katara heard footsteps coming down the hall and towards her room and made a quick dive for her bed. She quickly pulled the covers up and curled in a fetal position, she had to act convincingly.

There was a quiet knock on the door.

"Come in," she moaned, in what she hoped was a pained tone.

Her door opened and she saw Zuko walked in, "No need to act sickly on my account," he teased, "I take it you still haven't let your brother know that you aren't going with him."

Katara climbed out of her bed and quickly straightened her crimson robe, "I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to say."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "How about the truth? 'Zuko asked me to help him find his mother and I agreed.'"

"WHAT?!"A loud angry voice cried out.

Katara winced, seeing her brother standing in her doorway, "I was going to tell you…"

"Yeah? When Suki and I were on the boat?" Sokka exclaimed, limbs flailing angrily.

"Well of course not," Katara stated hands on her crimson covered hips, "I was going to tell you at some point in the next few minutes…"

"You aren't really having female problems are you?"Sokka asked accusingly, pointing a finger at her.

Zuko let out a chocked laugh, "So that's why you were just standing outside her door?"

"You knew he was out there?" Katara exclaimed and then scowled, pointing a finger at the Fire Lord, "You did that whole 'Zuko asked me to help him find his mother and I agreed,' thing on purpose. You knew Sokka was standing out there."

Zuko nodded, "Of course. I knew if I didn't say something Sokka would be on the ship and you'd be yelling at him from the shore."

Katara opened her mouth to make a retort and then promptly shut it.

"I guess I should leave you two to talk," Zuko said, "I'll come see you after your brother and his girlfriend leave."

Katara glared after his retreating figure and then turned to look at her brother.

"So you aren't going home with us today?" He asked sadly.

Katara shook her head, "No. I already promised I would help Zuko."

Sokka frowned, "Doesn't he have a girlfriend to help him with this? Why did he ask you specifically?"

Katara snorted at the mention of Mai, "Sokka, have you met Mai? She would rather not risk her neck to find her boyfriends' mother. I don't really know why he picked me."

"So you would risk your neck to save his mom?" Sokka asked with his eyebrow arched.

Katara flushed, "Of course I would. If his mother is alive I will do anything to help him find her."

Sokka stepped forward and pulled his sister in for a hug, "You just can't turn your back on people that ask for help can you? Well he better take good care of you. The Fire Nation 

doesn't need to lose the first good thing that's happened to them in a century to a well-placed whale-shark bone club to the head."

Katara laughed and hugged her brother back, "I can take care of myself, Sokka. I'm a big girl and a master waterbender."

Sokka pulled away from the hug and looked into his sisters' eyes, "That's not what I mean."

Katara archer her eyebrow, "What do you mean?" She asked.

Sokka coughed and turned to leave, "Well I better go make sure Suki is ready. The ship takes off in a few minutes. Are you coming to see us off?"

Katara watched her brothers retreating figure, wondering just what was going on in his head. She grabbed a pair of shoes and followed him a few moments later.

She wandered down the hall meeting up with Suki on the way out of the palace, "Hey Katara," Suki smiled, "Sokka told me you weren't coming home with us. That's too bad; I'll have to meet the infamous Gran-gran on my own."

Katara grinned as they made their way through the gardens and towards the port, "You'll just have to tell her hello for me. I'm positive that she'll approve of you."

Suki laughed, "That still doesn't make me any less nervous."

They came to a stop a few feet away from the giant Fire Nation ship meant to take them home. Suki turned to Katara and gave her a hug, "I'm going to miss you. You take care of yourself."

Katara returned Suki's hug, "I'll miss you too. And don't worry, Gran-gran really isn't too terrifying."

Suki laughed and walked over to where Sokka was waving frantically standing next the Fire Lord, "Well I guess we better head over there."

Katara followed and noticed Sokka whispering something in Zuko's ear. Zuko in turn paled several shades and gulped.

Katara eyed her brother suspiciously before giving him a hug, "I'll miss you, big brother."

Sokka smiled, "I'll miss you too little sister." He turned and retreated onto the ship, Suki following.

Katara and Zuko stood waving until the ship slowly disappeared on the horizon.

"So…What did my brother say to you?" Katara asked once they finally started making their way back to the palace.

Zuko flushed, "Oh…nothing."

A/n: Finally something actually new. Let me know what you think! I already have a lot of the next chapter written so if you show the love I'll have it up soon. :D


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Not mine.

It had been a full three days since Sokka left and Katara was beginning to get rather anxious. The longer she was stuck hanging around the Fire Nation palace the more she began to have second thoughts. At the present moment she was stuck in the Fire Lords study pouring over maps of every age and of all four nations.

She rubbed her sore tired eyes. She'd been in the stupid study with Zuko since she had woken up that morning. Her head was killing her and her eyes were bleary. All of the blasted maps were starting to look the same to her- a bunch of squiggly lines with words written here and there.

Ever so slowly Katara's head began to droop. She's been at this for hours now…a nap wouldn't hurt. Her eyes drifted shut and she stifled a yawn…yes a nap. Her head finally hit the table.

"Katara…wake up," a voice gently whispered, "Come on get up."

Katara sat up quickly, so quickly in fact that she managed to knock her chair over backwards and go toppling with it. She let a quiet stream of Water Tribe curses as she attempted to right herself.

She heard a deep, warm chuckle as Zuko moved to help her stand, "Are you alright?"

Katara swatted his hand away, giving him a rather scary look, "I would have been fine if you had just let me sleep. Why in Tui's name are we doing looking at blasted maps?"

Zuko chuckled again, "I woke you up because you were drooling on a rather ancient map of old Ba Sing Se. We're looking at 'blasted' maps to gather a picture on where my mother might be."

Katara rolled her eyes, finally managing to get herself standing again, "We've pretty much determined that she could be ANYWHERE."

Zuko held up his hands in defense, "Okay I've learned something new today. Never wake Katara up when she has reached the drooling stage. Hey I'm just kidding," he said with a teasing smile, "You weren't drooling. I was just waking you up to tell you to go to bed."

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," She whispered, "I'm just feeling incredibly stressed right now. I haven't even started packing… I don't even know what to pack… and I've never really been good at reading maps that was always Sokka's job."

Zuko placed a warm hand on her shoulder, "You're tired Katara, go to bed. I can do this on my own. Hopefully Aang will finally return tomorrow and we can be on our way."

Katara grimaced, Aang was returning tomorrow? Why was he coming back again? Oh yes, Zuko needed him to watch over the palace. Hopefully Toph would be back too. As much as it bothered Katara to admit it she missed the troublesome little earthbender, Mai was just no fun.

"If I'm going to bed you should too," Katara whispered gently shaking off Zuko's hand.

"Don't worry about me," he laughed, "I'm used to sleepless nights. Good night Katara," He smiled giving her a little hug.

Katara turned to leave, "Before I go to bed, what did my brother say to you?"

Zuko turned a rather brilliant shade of crimson, "Well… I think I'll go to bed now… Yes, bed…. Good night," He mumbled pushing Katara out of his study and shutting the door behind her.

Katara pouted to herself walking down the hall. She'd get it out of him eventually.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Author's Note: Really fond of this chapter but I felt I needed to upload something. I promise it will become more action filled and the chapters will be longer really soon.

As always feedback is appreciated. Please let me know if ya like it.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:

Avatar does not belong to me. Mike, Bryan and Nick own.

One minute Katara was safely snuggled in her bed, sleeping soundly and the next she was flying through the air. She let out a terrified shriek as she landed in a lump on the floor, crimson silk blankets tangled around her small frame.

"Oh, did I wake you Sweetness?"

Katara turned in the direction of the voice and let out a laugh, "Toph Bei Fong that is not anyway to wake someone up. You could have tried to say my name you know."

"You were out of it Sweetness," the small blind girl shrugged, "I called your name for ages and I finally decided to have a little fun."

"A gentle shake would have worked too, ya know," Katara mumbled rubbing her sore backside. She spent a few moments attempting to untangle herself from her sheets. Once she was finally free she rushed over and gave Toph a hug.

Toph laughed, "Now where would the fun have been in that?" She asked returning the hug, "You have no idea how much I missed you Sugar Queen. You may be pushy and overbearing but at least you aren't as bad as my parents."

Katara felt her heart soften, "I missed you too Toph. I've been stuck looking at maps with Zuko for hours on end and when I haven't been doing that I've been stuck with Mai."

"Haha, you and Gloom girl forced together? Isn't that a little awkward?"

"Well I wouldn't say awkward…. Okay it was incredibly awkward. She'll just sit there and stare at me emotionlessly. Sometimes she'll sharpen her knives… It's really quite terrifying. I'd try to talk to her and she'd just stare blankly at me. It was incredibly unnerving. I really don't know what Zuko sees in that girl," Katara rambled as she searched her room for something to wear.

"Are ya jealous Sugar Queen?" Toph asked flopping on top of Katara's bed, "Oooh! This is nice," she grinned lying back on Katara's bed, "Even nicer than the bed at home."

"I am not jealous," Katara huffed picking up one of her red Fire Nation dresses and promptly dropping it back in the drawer.

"Sugar Queen, have you forgotten my special little talent? I can tell your lying," Toph stated, pushing herself off of Katara's bed.

Katara rolled her eyes after becoming a very bright shade of red, "Well, maybe I am. What are you doing here anyways? I thought you were going to make up with your parents," Katara said finally pulling out a light blue and white Water Tribe garment.

"I thought I'd keep Twinkletoes company while you and Sparky go gallivanting about in search of his mom, besides my parents weren't home… Which, now that I think about it, is rather odd," Toph shrugged, "Enough about me. How are you holding up right now Sugar Queen?"

"What do you mean? I'm holding up just fine thank you," Katara stated matter-of-factly, pulling half of her hair up to make herself look semi-presentable.

"Sugar Queen this is the second time you've lied to me in the past two seconds," Toph drawled, "You're secretly falling apart aren't you?"

Katara let out a little sniffle, "Maybe just a little…or a lot. "...This is a mistake. I should have gone home with Sokka and Suki. Suki needs the moral support."  
Toph rolled her sightless eyes heavenward, "I think Sparky needs you a little more than Warrior Woman."  
Katara let out a small sigh, "I know."  
Toph wandered over to Katara and turned her eyes to Katara's face in a sympathetic sightless stare, "He doesn't want you the way you want him to want you."  
"Yeah..." Katara whispered.  
Toph had a very solemn look on her young face, "I think Sparky's a fool if he can't see how much you care for him. You know at one time I thought he cared for you too. I mean he did throw himself in front of lightening for you."

Katara let out a little snort, "I don't think his brain was working properly at the time."

Toph rolled her eyes, "Well if you ask me I don't think boys have brains at all," Toph turned her head to the ground, "I may not be able to see, but I bet your pretty than Gloomy. I already know that you're nicer than she is."

"Toph I do believe that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Katara said giving the smaller girl a big hug.

Toph returned the hug lightly, before pushing her away, "Don't get too used to it Sugar Queen. That was a once in a lifetime thing. Oh, yeah there was a reason I came in here."

"And rudely woke me up?"

"Yeah, sorry," Toph grinned, "Sparky is waiting for you. Something about finalizing plans or something like that. Aren't you guys leaving in the morning?"

Katara groaned, "Yes… I haven't even started packing and now I have to go spend hours looking at maps."

Toph smirked evilly, "I'll pack for you."

"Toph… You're blind. You won't even know what you're packing," Katara said exasperatedly, throwing her arms in the air.

"How hard could it be? Just grab some silky feeling stuff and some furry stuff and shove it in a bag. Go look at your maps," Toph said wandering over and yanking open drawers.

Katara sighed, there really was no use telling Toph what to do. She just hoped she wouldn't regret letting Toph pack for her in the morning.

Authors Note:

Sorry this took so long. My poor dog has been sick so I've had to take her back and forth to the vet.

I promise the action picks up in the next chapter. They really will start their journey. And we find out just how good Toph is at packing. Let me know waht you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I no owny the avatary.

A wave of nausea rushed over her as she examined her surroundings. She was in her room, only it didn't look like it had been lived in. Her bed was made so neatly she could toss a coin upon it and it would bounce. Her floor so clean she could see her face in the marble. Over the past few hours Toph had managed to shove a few items of clothing and other necessities into a medium sized cloth bag.

She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before. Zuko had made her sit with him for hours, first going over his stupid plans and the going over them again and again. Right when she thought she was going to get to bed Zuko had a mental meltdown, so she was forced (well not really, but she couldn't just leave him) to stay and calm him down. She had spent the last two hours awkwardly patting Zuko's head.

Katara picked up the bag that was lying in the center of the floor and hoisted up on her back, "Goodbye room," she whispered, "I will miss you comfy bed," She stated, turning and leaving her room. She wandered down the hall in a daze, nearly crashing into Aang.

"Katara!" He exclaimed, "I was just about to come and get you." The young airbender was wearing his usual goofy grin, "Zuko's waiting for you. He's getting rather anxious."

Katara groaned, "Please don't tell me he's going to have another meltdown."

Aang let out a laugh, "No, he just wants to leave before he chickens out."

Katara looked at Aang in disbelief, "He's thinking about chickening out? Wait till I get my hands on him!" She exclaimed, "I missed my trip home for this!"

"Calm down Katara," Aang said placing a hand on her arm, "I wanted to talk to you before you left."

Katara's heart began to race as they continued their walk. She knew what was coming and she really did not want to hear it. She was just wondering how she was going to get out of this little talk when she saw Toph waving towards them frantically at the entrance of the palace, "Oh! Look there's Toph! She exclaimed talking off running towards the blind girl.

"Thank the gods you're finally here Sugar Queen!" Toph exclaimed, "I think Sparky's gonna have another panic attack or what not and that stupid girlfriend of his isn't helping either."

Katara dropped her bag on the ground and groaned, walking over towards Zuko and Mai. She offered Mai a small smile, " Can I borrow Zuko for a minute?"

Mai shrugged, "You talk some sense into him. I can't even tell what he's blubbering on about."

"Come on Zuko," Katara said taking the mumbling young man's arm.

Zuko followed Katara's pull and then looked at her, "What if we don't find her?" He finally managed to whisper, "Or worse… What if we find her and she doesn't want me anymore?"

Katara couldn't believe she was hearing this, "Zuko… She's your mother. Of course she'll still want you and we're going to find her. Now you better go tell your girlfriend goodbye because we're leaving now." The sooner they were gone the sooner she could avoid Aang's little confrontation.

Zuko turned and walked over to Mai and Katara turned to her friends, "Well… I guess this is it," Katara stated. She gave Toph a big hug, "Be good."

Toph cackled, "Am I ever good Sugar Queen?"

Katara let out a laugh, "Of course not, but try okay?"

Aang walked up, "Katara…" He murmured looking in her eyes, "I wanted to talk to you… Since the war is over…" He began.

Zuko walked up just in time (Katara was thinking of giving him the title Zuko- The Lord of Good Timing). He leaned down and picked up Katara's bag, "Ready to go?"

Katara nodded a little too enthusiastically, "We'll talk when I get back Aang. I promise," She gave him a hug, "Now make sure Toph behaves."

Aang nodded sullenly.

Zuko waved goodbye, "I trust you to help keep peace," he said to Aang.

"I won't ya down," Aang said sounding almost like his normal, cheerful self.

As Zuko and Katara headed out towards the stables Toph came up and punched Aang's arm, none too lightly, "Cheer up Twinkletoes. At least you still have me," She grinned.

A/n- I know this is incredibly short and incredibly late. I hope the next chapter will be longer and won't take so long. I really have no excuse this time...other than the fact that solitaire is incredibly addictive and I have a short attention span.

Now that that's done, please review. I want to know what you like and dislike so maybe I can change it and what not.

Much Love!


	6. Zuko and Mai's Goodbye

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. If I did writing this would have been easier._

_A/N: This really isn't an actual chapter. **Saucebender **wanted to see a goodbye between Zuko and Mai and here it is. Lemme tell you this was HARD! I know this is incredibly short but that was the point! I promise the next ACTUAL chapter is on the way._

_On another note how was Halloween? I went to a pretty awesome Parade downtown called the Thriller Parade. 200+ zombies and a faux Michael Jackson Thriller danced down Main Street._

_As always let me know what you think._

_Oh and this little ditty is dedicated to **Saucebender **and** SasuxSakufan **because they are some of my most loyal reviewers!_

Mai wondered what was so great about that waterbending girl. She stood with her arms across her folded across her chest and she watched as the girl spoke to her boyfriend. After just a few short moments he looked visibly relieved. _How could she do it? _Mai thought. She used to be able to be the one to calm him down.

Lately all Zuko seemed to want to do was talk about his feelings. He'd started turning away from her kisses and was actually trying to just talk to her. Was something wrong with her?

Mai decided right that moment she did not like the waterbending girl, she was feeling jealous. And she NEVER felt jealous. She could just imagine Ty Lee telling her that her normally dingy gray aura was now a vivid shade of green.

Zuko finally was walking away from the blasted waterbender and towards her. Mai uncrossed her arms as he reached for her.

"I guess I'm really leaving now," He muttered, reaching for her and pulling her in for a hug.

Mai nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. She was afraid she would do something stupid, like her voice cracking, so for a moment she just quietly returned his hug.

He pulled back, "I'll miss you. I'll write you as much as I can."

Mai nodded and watched him turn and walk away. Finally she found the courage, "What did she say to you that I couldn't?"

He acted like he didn't hear her and continued on his way to Katara. Mai did NOT like the little waterbending girl one bit.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

_A/N: I have some serious concentration issues. I seriuosly need to have someone stand over me and whack me on the head with an incredibly heavy book everytime I go off to play solitaire instead of typing. **Saucebender **this chapter is once again in your honor for that magnificently long review. It seriously made my day._

_On another note, I have an idea for another fic stuck in my head. The only problem is I don't even know how to start it all I know is that is wants to be written and that it is inspired by a song I listen to every five minutes. Stupid brain that won't stay focused!_

_On with the story!_

Katara did not remember Zuko mentioning ostrich-horses once during all of their stupid meetings, but then again she spent most of those meetings either asleep or staring at him. This particular ostrich-horse was giving her the evil eye.  
She looked up at Zuko, "Why are we taking these? Don't you have a Royal Navy ship or something we could take? I'm fine with walking the rest of the time."

"Don't tell me you're scared of a little ostrich-horse. Did you pay attention to the plans at all?" Zuko asked exasperatedly, taking Katara's bag and situating it on the evil looking ostrich-horse.

Katara huffed, "I am not scared of it….and it's definitely not little," she reached for her bag, "You're starting to sound like my brother."

Zuko put his hand on top of Katara's bag to prevent her from picking it up, "Get on the ostrich-horse Katara. And I sound nothing like your brother."

Katara put her hands on her hips, "Don't talk to me like that. I most certainly am not getting on that thing. I don't even know how to ride it. You do so sound like my brother. Going on and on about 'the plan'."

"Well why didn't you say you couldn't ride one when we were going over the plans? Oh that's right. You were daydreaming! You're brother can be quite smart sometimes."

Katara crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm not getting on that thing and you can't…." She trailed off as Zuko placed his hands on her hips and lifted her off the ground and onto the ostrich-horse.

"You were saying?" He asked a smirk on his face.

Katara glowered at him, "I hope you know this means I don't like you very much at the moment. Even though I'm on this crazy beast it doesn't mean I know how to ride it." She squirmed uncomfortably on the back of the ostrich-horse, looking slightly scared.

Zuko had the nerve to chuckle at her discomfort, "I really don't understand how you can possibly be frightened by an ostrich-horse. I mean you rode on a ten-ton flying bison."

Katara eyes narrowed into slits, "Well… Appa has six legs… and this thing only has two very, very skinny legs."

Zuko looked at her with a blank look, "Katara… That has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard… and I've spent time with your brother."

Katara stuck out her lower lip, "I still don't want to ride this thing."

"Well," Zuko said placed a hand on her knee and gently guided her leg to the other side of the ostrich-horse, "I'm the Fire Lord. You have no say in the matter."

Katara flushed a little at the feel of Zuko's warm hand on her knee. He, of course, didn't seem to notice a bit and went about adjusting her legs. "We have enough time to run through a quick riding lesson," He grabbed the reins and handed them to her, "You know that these are used to guide the animal, just like Appa. Now to get him to go you squeeze your knees together. The harder you squeeze the faster you'll go." He emphasized this by gently pushing her knee.

Katara realized at that moment how proud she was to be a Water Tribe girl. The blush staining her cheeks was not nearly as dark as it would have been if she had Zuko's complexion. Once she finally got up the nerve to speak she murmured, "Like this?" She gently pressed her knees into the beasts' side and it began to trot. She looked up and grinned, "Well I guess this isn't so bad."

.............0.0

What the hell had she been thinking? This was the worst possible thing ever. Her eyelids were heavy and her bottom was starting to go numb. Really numb. So numb she couldn't even feel it anymore. She had a feeling once they finally stopped her legs would just fall off. She was miserable. And to top it off they had been stuck in the blasted forest all afternoon. The shade of the trees and the warm air was going to seriously put her to sleep at any moment.

She looked up tiredly, Zuko was a good ten feet ahead of her and he didn't seem to be tired in the least. Katara did not think that it was fair. He should at least be as tired as her. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before either.

On top of being miserably tired and incredibly behind her stupid ostrich-horse wasn't listening to her at all. He kept trying to stop and eat the stupid flowers dotting the forest path (Who knew the Fire Nation had such a sizeable forest?). Finally fed up she squeezed her knees tighter than normal and the stupid beast shot off like a rocket.

.............

Zuko was trotting at a good pace; at the rate that they were going they would reach the port city they were headed to by tomorrow afternoon. They just needed to keep the stops short and to a minimum. He was lost in thought, gently guiding his mount; when out of the corner of his eye a bright blue flash breezed by.

He sat there on his ostrich-horse for a full minute before he realized what it was and then he proceeded to curse under his breath. He kicked his mount into a faster pace, chasing down the shrieking Katara.

He was now moving at a breakneck speed, steadily catching up on Katara. "Pull on the reins Katara! Pull on the reins!"

"Don't you think I tried that?" She cried over her shoulder, frantically pulling at the reins.

Zuko cursed, he had finally caught up to Katara, "Let go of the reins Katara!" He yelled reaching for her.

"What?!" She shrieked, not noticing him reaching for her, "I can't do that!"

Zuko let out a frustrated grunt, "Let go! I'm going to pull you off and onto my ostrich-horse."

Katara finally took her eyes of the dirt road, "Are you sure you can do that?"

"Just let go dammit!" Katara instantly let go of the reins and Zuko managed pluck her right off the speeding ostrich-horse. He pulled her tightly against him, "Are you okay?"

Katara nodded mutely as Zuko pulled his ostrich-horse to a stop and continued to hold her tightly. After a few moments of awkward silence Katara finally said, "My stuff is gone…"

Zuko bit his lip, "Well that could be an issue."

"Oh… and you can let go of me now," Katara whispered, hoping that she wasn't blushing too furiously.

Zuko quickly let go of her and helped her get off the ostrich-horse, before getting off himself. He then led the beast to a tree and tethered it there. He proceeded to plop down on the ground. This really wasn't going as planned. Hopefully this little incident would be the last of its kind.

Katara came and sat down next to him, "I'm really sorry. I was just so tired…. And you were so far ahead…."

Zuko smiled weakly, "Its okay. From now on we'll just have to share Taiyou," he stated pointing to his ostrich-horse, "I'm pretty sure he can support both of or weight…" He trailed off noticing Katara's head had drifted onto his shoulder and she was fast asleep.

Maybe a nap wasn't such a bad idea, he thought, leaning against the tree and closing his eyes. Not a bad idea at all.

_A/N: So I guess we won't find out what Toph packed after all. Poor Katara losing all of her stuff. Erm... What else to say? Oh yes. Review please!_


	8. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer- I own not._

_A/N:.... So I'm not dead. There are alot of factors that took me so long to update. Factor one: Extreme writers block that resulted in** Body Language and Bad Habits **(go read). Factor two: My friend reintroduced me to Death Note and I couldn't do anything until i finished it. Factor three: I had to write a comparison paper- I'm such a dork I compared Harry Potter to Zuko(hey my professor approved of it). If you want to humor yourselfs I may let you read it. Factor four: I have had a stupid sinus infection that will not go away. Strangely Thanksgiving had nothing to do with this takeing so long. I actually wrote most of it on the way to, at, and on my way home from my grandparents. Final note before I send you off my AIM screenname is darklily1223. Feel free to message me and bug the crap out of me. If I have somone bigging me I get my stuff done faster._

Katara sighed sleepily, she was in the stage of sleep, right before waking up, and was trying to force herself to go back. It wasn't that hard to do, the rhythmic breathing of her pillow was gently lulling her back into dreamland. Her warm blanket wrapped tighter around her. Wait a minute… pillows didn't breathe and blankets didn't have arms.

Her eyes snapped open. Her eyes met with a muscular red clad arm. Crap… how did this happen exactly? The last thing she remembered was apologizing to Zuko for losing the evil ostrich-horse. Oh Tui and La… she fell asleep on him! This was just too awkward for words. How was she going to get out of this without waking him up?

She gently tried to lift his arm off of her, but that only prompted him to tighten his grip on her. She was stuck. Boy was it going to be awkward when he finally woke up. She squirmed slightly, wondering why she was trying so hard to escape. She'd dreamt of getting to do just this for ages.

"'Tara, stop squirming," A tired raspy voice mumbled.

She froze in his arms as he pulled her up closer to him, "Zuko… she whispered, "Wake up."

He groaned, "How long have we been out?"

"Long enough," she whispered, still trying to squirm out of his arms.

He finally loosened his grip and allowed her to sit up. She turned to look at him as he opened his eyes. He let out a slew of curses. "We are so far behind schedule!"

Katara flushed, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep like this."

Zuko sat, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It's okay. We just won't reach the port for a few days. A minor setback."

Katara knew she should have kept her mouth shut, but the words spilled out before she could stop them, "What are we going to do about my ostrich-horse and clothes? Everything I had was in that bag."

"I had completely forgotten about that," he bit off, "I guess I'll just lend you something of mine. That of course means we won't be making it to the port town as soon as I had hoped."

"Earlier today you said that we would make it by morning. What's changed?"

"We're going to be sharing a mount. We can't ride it as fast or as long. We'll have to take a lot more breaks."

Katara groaned, "You know this means you should have listened to me, right? I told you I didn't know how to ride an ostrich-horse." She was standing now, her hair a tangled mess around her shoulders, hands on her hips, "If you didn't want to take one of your blasted Fire Navy ships we could have taken Appa. I know how to fly Appa."

Zuko winced at her harsh tone, "Katara I told you. I want to be incognito. People still don't quite trust me, you know."

"Hello! I'm going to be with you. People like me."

"Not the resistance," Zuko blurted out.

Katara gave him a dangerous glare, "There's a resistance? Why didn't you tell me?"

Zuko looked down at his feet, "I thought I mentioned it. Maybe you weren't paying attention at the time."

"That's something I would remember Zuko!" She cried, grabbing his bag. "I'm going to try to find a place to take a bath or something." She stalked off into the trees. She knew there was a river or something nearby. She could feel the water calling to her.

She hadn't walked very far when she stumbled across a river. She gently removed her clothes and folded them and sat them on a rock. She sat on the edge of the river, clad only in her white underclothes, kicking the water with her feet. She was debating on whether or not she should wash her underclothes. She didn't know when she would get another chance to. So, sighing, she gently tugged them off as well. She waded into the water until it was well above her hips. She held her under clothes in her hands and went about rinsing them off, when she heard a sound. Her senses had heightened over the months she spent traveling with her little motley crew. She had to make sure that Aang (or any others for that matter) never accidently wandered in on her in the nude.

She heard it again, "Zuko?" she called, sinking further under the water. She was going to chew him out if he followed her. Before she could even blink they appeared from the trees. There had to be ten, all men… and not small men either. The smallest one was easily the size of a small mountain. She did the only thing she could thing of at the moment. She let out a scream.

.0.0

Zuko was still staring at the trees Katara had disappeared into, when a sharp shriek knocked some sense into him. He bit off a curse; he did not recall Katara being such a magnet for trouble before. He stood and ran in the direction of her voice. He finally came stumbling through the trees only to have himself frozen to one.

He glanced around and noticed Katara was handling herself rather well for being outnumbered. Six men were frozen to various trees, shock on their face as the waterbending girl continued to fling water at the remaining four men.

"I don't care if you're part of the freaking resistance, NEVER SNEAK UP ON A BATHING WATERBENDING MASTER!" The water danced around her limbs keeping most of her body covered. "Now I am going to keep you there and I'm going to leave." She said glaring at the men frozen to various trees.

At that moment Zuko remembered he was a firebender. In a matter of seconds he freed himself from his icy prison, "Katara stay in the water!" He called, "I'll bring your clothes. Where are they?"

He saw her flush slightly and sink under the water, "They should be on the rocks….oh …." The rest of her sentence was a flurry of many curses that Zuko was quite surprised she even knew.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" he asked, glancing towards the water.

"Not only have I lost my ostrich-horse and my belongings," Katara stated, "but I've managed to lose my only pair of undergarments and my clothes. The world just does not love me today."

Zuko coughed, "I guess you could wear one of shirts… or something like that."

"Toss me one," she called, "No…. wait. Take the bag down river and leave it. I'll meet you at the ostrich-horse."

.0.0

Katara watched Zuko walk downriver cursing under her breath. Someone up in the heavens must be having quite a laugh right about now. Seriously, when had she ever attracted trouble? Well there was that time with the pirates and Zuko. Oh and the time she got herself thrown in prison…Well that actually happened twice, but once it was on purpose. There was also Jet. And that one time she walked right into Azula's trap. Okay maybe she was more of a trouble magnet than she thought she was.

Well at least this was the first, and hopefully only, time she ended up naked. She looked at the men frozen to the trees, who for some reason where into much shock to firebend themselves out of the ice. Hadn't anyone warned them how powerful she was?

She sank deeper into the water and slowly made her way downriver, which was very difficult to do while trying to make sure that you're completely covered and checking to make sure no one is going to jump out of the trees at you. She finally made it to where Zuko had left his bag. She glanced around to make sure he wasn't poking around anywhere nearby and she quickly climbed out of the water. She bent the water off of her body and began digging around in Zuko's bag.

She pulled out a red shirt that looked large enough to cover her vital parts. She pulled the shirt over her shoulders and fastened it shut with one of his golden belts. She began to dig deeper in the bag. There was no way she was going to ride on an ostrich-horse without any time of undergarments. She found what looked to be like red shorts and sighed. It was going to have to do for now.

She walked over to the river and glanced at her reflection. The shirt was a little low and showed a little more of her than she was used to seeing. At least it covered a good portion of her thighs. She went about fixing her hair into her usual hair style, minus her beloved hair-loopies. When she was finally satisfied, she set off to find Zuko.

.0.0

Zuko sighed tiredly, feeding the ostrich-horse a few bits of grain he had managed to take out of his bag, when Katara came through the woods finally. There was something about her wearing his shirt that just looked so right to him. He shook off the thought as she came and stood in front of him, holding out his bag for him to take.

He took it from her and gave her a smirk, "Do you always attract this much trouble?" He settled the bag on the back of the ostrich-horse.

Katara gave him a dirty look, "Maybe I do. Now let's just go before those idiots back there remember how to firebend."

Zuko helped her up on the ostrich-horse and climbed up behind her, "Well we're off. Let's hope you don't attract any more trouble until we get to town."

"Haha," she mumbled dryly.

_A/n2: You know the drill! Review please!_ _I'm thinking about writing a one-shot for my 50th reviewer. Hmmmmmm. :D_


	9. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters._

_A/N: Happy Holidays my darlings! And a happy birthday to me (well it will be midnight and officially my birthday by the time i get this posted)! This is incredibly rushed and kinda crappy. I felt I owed you guys a holiday present XD. I'd ogirinally started writing an interlude with Toph and Aang, but I decided to hold off on that. Let me know if you even want it!_

_Keep the reveiws rolling! I promise a one-shot dedicated to my 50th reviewer!_

Katara let out a yawn and slumped forward. She was tired and uncomfortable and her back was killing her. She'd been slumped forward most of the day, trying ever so hard not to lean into Zuko's chest. She didn't know why she was trying so hard not to touch him, he was making it increasingly hard. His arms were around her waist holding onto the reigns and would bump into her sides every so often. She was beginning to think he was doing it on purpose now, because he'd stopped murmuring his apologies hours ago.

She let out a sigh, she was so uncomfortable. "Can we stop, please?" She asked, trying her hardest not to sound whiny, "My back is killing me."

"Well it's your own fault," he stated, "Just lean on me. We're getting close to the city and I don't want to stop. The sooner we get there the sooner we can set sail for the Earth Kingdom."

Katara let out a groan. "I hate you so much right now. I wish we didn't have to be all incognito about this," she stifled a yawn and finally slumped back against Zuko. "We could have taken one of those airships and been half-way across the Earth Kingdom by now."

Zuko seemed to tighten his arms around her, "Now where would the fun in that have been?" He teased.

"It would have been so much more fun," Katara murmured, snuggling back into Zuko's chest, "And I would not have lost my clothes and been forced to wear your overly large one."

"My clothes are not overly large, you're just tiny," He stated, "Look, there's a sign. We're about a mile away."

"Thank La," Katara said with a sigh, "I doubt I'll even be able to walk properly once we get there. You may just have to carry me," She joked.

Zuko snorted, "Or I could just leave you on the ostrich-horse while I go purchase out passages."

Katara's eyes widened, "By myself…. On this …thing?"

"I'm joking, goof," he laughed, "Once we get into town my name is Li Huo and you are my wife Kisa."

"Uh-huh…wait wife?" Katara questioned.

"Yes. Wife. It's considered odd for a girl and a boy our age to travel together without being related and there is no possible way you could pass as my sister."

Katara nodded, "I'm a little too Water Tribe aren't I? So… what was the reason for all of this being in disguise thing again?"

Zuko groaned, "You really didn't listen to the plan did you?"

******************************************************************************

The sun was just setting when they finally arrived at the small port town. Katara had never been so happy to see buildings in her life. Their mount trotted along the streets until Zuko found a suitable inn. He pulled the ostrich-horse to a stop and hopped off. "I think it's too late to purchase our passages tonight. Hopefully there will be a ship departing tomorrow so we aren't stuck here for days," he stated putting his hands on Katara's waist and helping her down.

"You know I wouldn't mind that," she teased, swaying on her feet. Zuko put an arm around her and she flushed a little, "Let's just go get some rooms. D'you think we can buy me some new clothes tomorrow? As comfy as your clothes are I would like to wear something that actually fits me."

Zuko sighed, "Of course we can get you clothes. But you better not lose these though."

Katara stuck her tongue out at him as he tied the ostrich-horse up and gathered up his bag He then helped her inside. He made his way to the desk, "Hello. I would like a room for my wife and I." He smiled.

The young woman manning the desk flushed slightly and had him sign in and went about collecting a key. She glanced at the registry, "Here you go Mr. Huo. Your room is down the hall second door on the left."I hope you and your wife have a very pleasant stay. My name is Nina; let me know if you need anything at all."

Zuko nodded, "Thank you. Come on Kia, let's get you to the room," He said, taking a hold of her arm and leading her down the hall. Once they made it to the room he unlocked it and they stumbled, well Katara did, into the room.

The room was fairly nice for a port town inn. There, of course, was only one bed situated in the center of the room. On either side of the bed a night stand was situated one with a basin and the other a candle. Off in the corner of the room was a table flanked by two chairs.

Katara grinned, "I see a bed!" She cried. She regained use of her legs and ran and flopped on the bed.

Zuko laughed, "You stay here and I'm going to go get something to eat."

Katara nodded snuggling into the bed, her eyelids heavy, "Mmmmkay," she mumbled. She was asleep before he even left the room.


End file.
